It is often the case, that when a young man first sets up
in business, he needs advice. I here insert a little for the benefit of
such.

"In order to succeed in business, it is absolutely
necessary that you should maintain the character and appearance of an
honest man. The easiest and most effectual way of doing this, is to be
really so. If principles of strict integrity reign in the heart, there will
be no little tricks and deceits to conceal and glaze over, in words or
actions. It is the most honorable and valuable character which can be
established by a young tradesman; and a certificate which will carry him
through life. 'He is thoroughly upright and transparent in all his dealings;
he is incapable of an action that could raise a blush on his countenance, if
all the world beheld it.'

"Let your standard of honesty and integrity not merely be
to keep clear of those things that would expose you to disgrace and
punishment; but do nothing to your neighbor or your customer, that you would
not think upright if he did the like to you. The golden rule of our Lord
Jesus Christ, if universally acted upon, would set aside quarrels and
lawsuits. There may be a few cases, in which people do not know what is
legally right, and may find it necessary to consult a lawyer; but
ninety-nine cases out of a hundred begin in a failure of attending to this
rule, and are carried on in determined opposition to it.

"Detest the petty acts of fraud by short weights and
measures, by delivering goods inferior to sample, or by making incorrect
entries in your book. 'Divers weights and divers measures are an abomination
unto the Lord.'

"Punctuality is a great friend both to integrity
and peace. Therefore, deliver and receive all things by exact number,
weight, or measure; and take regular accounts of all things sent out or
received in.

"For everything you buy or sell, rent or hire, make an
exact bargain at first, and neither allow nor practice the common evasion,
'Never mind the price; we sha'nt disagree about trifles.' This is a common
source of disagreement, and often an intentional cloak for fraud.

"Let your books be always kept in such a state as would
be no disgrace to yourself, or injury or trouble to others, if sudden death
should throw them into the hands of your executors, or unexpected calamity
should put them in the power of your creditors.

"Be diligent to know the state of your own affairs. Do
not deceive yourself by getting in a good stock, and thinking your shop is
well filled, and you have good debts on your books, and ready money for your
use, while you have not paid your wholesale dealer. Have your accounts so
that you can tell at one view what you owe, what you possess, and what is
due to you, and then reckon your own property at less than half the balance
that stands in your favor.

"Never forfeit a good conscience, or a good name, for the
sake of gain. The gain will be found but momentary, the injury as lasting as
life. Honesty is always the best policy. Wise men take things in the
long run; and they know very well, that to get ten pounds a-year, for life,
is better than to get twenty or thirty by one crafty action. To the very
poorest a good character is better than ten pounds a-year, and will be found
worth more than that in the long run. Let the poor, struggling, honest man
look back, and he will find reason to say, 'I got such a one's work, and
such a one's good will, and such a one's assistance, by bearing an
unblemished character. Where would I have been without a good name for
honesty?' While the crafty, unprincipled man is often obliged to think,
though he does not choose to say, 'Such an advantage I lost, because I was
looked upon with suspicion; such an appointment would have been mine, but
they did not like to trust me; I might at this moment have been a richer
man, if I had strictly kept to the paths of integrity.' Craft generally
outwits itself; as the wise man says, 'The wisdom of the prudent is to
understand his way; but the folly of fools is deceit.' How true are the
sayings, 'Tricks and treachery are the practice of fools, who have not sense
enough to be honest!' 'That which is unjustly gained, will prove like a
barbed arrow, wounding the conscience as it enters, and, still more, the
character, when it is torn back with violence.'

"If you wish to maintain a clear conscience and a good
name, avoid the very common crime of defrauding government. In all your
dealings, whatever duties are levied, or taxes required, let them be
punctually rendered, according to the scripture precept, 'Render to all
their dues; tax to whom tax is due; custom to whom custom.' Many people, who
imagine themselves very honest, think, 'it is no crime to cheat the king.'
But there are, at least, three principles on which the dishonesty of such
conduct is very evident— Government must be supported; and everyone who
shares the protection of government, is bound to contribute his share
towards its support. Then, if a certain sum is to be raised among a certain
number of people, and if one or more evade paying their share, the
deficiency must be made up among the remainder. So, the person who says
there is no harm in cheating the king, is, in fact, guilty of cheating the
whole community. Then, again, the tradesman who evades any duty, is
especially guilty of injustice to other tradesmen in the same line of
business. If they pay the duty which he evades, he is enabled to undersell
them; or, if he maintains their price, he gains a much larger profit, and so
an end is put to all fair competition. In addition to this, it may be
observed, that those who begin by smuggling, or in any way defrauding
government, generally go on to acts of private fraud. Their conscience is
hardened; they are in the daily practice of deeds at which they would once
have revolted; they become selfish and ungenerous in all their habits;
integrity and respectability are forever sacrificed.

"Avoid as much as possible either taking or giving
credit. Nothing establishes the character of a young tradesman more than
applying his first returns of ready money to paying debts before they become
due, and taking the discount. Many a young tradesman has been ruined by
allowing his customers to run up bills with him, which they were unable to
pay, and he, in consequence, has been unable to meet the demands of his
wholesale dealers.

Never seek to promote your own interest by injuring a
brother tradesman. It is a common saying, 'Two of a trade can never agree;'
but this ought not to be the case, especially among those who profess to be
under the influence of true religion: 'Live, and let live,' 'The world is
wide enough for us both,' are much better sayings. Those who maintain
uprightness, candor, and good feeling, may live in the same town, and carry
on their respective operations in perfect harmony, and find, in the end,
that their mutual interests have been promoted by such a course. But any
spiteful attempt to injure a brother tradesman will generally meet the
reward that Solomon speaks of, 'He who rolls a stone, it shall return upon
him.'

"In a certain small town there were two tradesmen in the
same line of business. A nobleman in the neighborhood wished to give equal
business to every honest tradesman, and directed that the business of his
house should be divided between the two. Both these men were of a sly and
spiteful disposition, and each endeavored to undermine the other. Whenever
an order was given, or a bill was paid, the one who received it took the
opportunity of hinting something to the disadvantage of his neighbor. After
endeavoring for several years to cure them of this baseness and malignity,
the nobleman became so much disgusted that he took away his custom from
both, encouraged a third to set up in the town, and both the former were
ruined.

"Be faithful and punctual to your employers. Never crib
the articles entrusted to you to make or repair, nor run them to needless
expense, for the sake of lengthening your bill. Never draw people in to put
a job into your hands, by intimating that the expense will be smaller than
you know will really be the case. Such tricks will not serve more than once
or twice.

"Never promise customers to get their work done by a
certain time, which you know it is impossible to accomplish. Many tradesmen,
unwilling to turn away a job, will promise one and another, that their work
shall be sure to be done by the time desired, at the same time well knowing
that almost everyone of them must be disappointed. The wives of some
tradesmen will boast of their ingenuity in inventing falsehoods to appease
an angry customer whom their husband has disappointed. It need scarcely be
added, that such tradesmen soon lose their best customers, as well as
forfeit their integrity and respectability. An eminently pious tradesman
said, 'For many, many years, I have never omitted this supplication in my
morning prayer, 'Let integrity and uprightness preserve me, for I wait on
You.' His prayer was heard and answered; amidst every trial he was preserved
in peace of mind; and maintained a character for integrity that the
bitterest enemies of religion dared not impeach.

"Integrity is the young tradesman's first
requisite, and industry the second. He must keep his shop, if he
wishes his shop to keep him. Rise early in the morning. 'The early bird
catches the worm.'

'Early to bed, and early to rise,
Is the way to be healthy, wealthy, and wise.'

'Sloth makes all things difficult; but industry makes all
things easy.' 'Let your shop be open, and your hammer be heard, the first in
the street.' There is no time when the hands and spirits are so nimble, and
when all is so free from interruption, as early in the morning; therefore,
'Take time by the forelock, for he is bald behind.' 'One today is worth two
tomorrows.' 'Defer not until tomorrow, what should be done today, else you
will have a day's work the more to do, and a day less to do it in.' But
rather, if you have something that must be done tomorrow, strive if possible
to do it today, and 'drive your business, rather than let your business
drive you.' 'He who rises late, may trot hard all day, and shall scarcely
overtake his business by night; while Laziness travels so slowly that
Poverty soon overtakes him.' It is a common saying that, 'Diligence
is the mother of good luck.' We do not talk about good luck, for we know
there is no such thing, but that all is under the direction of a wise and
righteous Providence; but we know also the Book that says, 'The hand of the
diligent makes rich.' 'Love not sleep, lest you come to poverty; open your
eyes, and you shall be satisfied with bread.' The blessing of God is
commonly seen to rest on honest industry. Therefore,

'Plough deep while sluggards sleep,
And you shall have corn to sell and to keep.'

"Let the following sacred proverbs be deeply engraved on
your memory: 'The way of the slothful man is as a hedge of thorns, but the
way of the righteous shall be made plain.' 'Slothfulness casts into a deep
sleep, and an idle soul shall suffer hunger.' 'The sluggard will not plough,
by reason of the cold; therefore he shall beg in harvest, and have nothing.'
'The desire of the slothful kills him, for his hands refuse to labor.' "The
slothful man says, 'There is a lion outside, I shall be slain in the
street.'" 'I went past the field of the sluggard, past the vineyard of the
man who lacks judgment; thorns had come up everywhere, the ground was
covered with weeds, and the stone wall was in ruins. I applied my heart to
what I observed and learned a lesson from what I saw: A little sleep, a
little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest—and poverty will come
on you like a bandit and scarcity like an armed man.' Proverbs 24:30-34

"The very appearance of diligence is advantageous. The
young tradesman should always be found at home, and in some way employed.
Busy, meddling neighbors have their eyes always open. You had better weigh
and measure your old stock, than let them see you doing nothing. Indeed, it
is no bad plan to spend your leisure moments in weighing out pounds or
ounces of such things as take no injury, and it is a great saving of time in
the bustle of market-day. The very principle and habit of finding a handy
little job to fill up every vacant minute, is of great value.

"The young tradesman's three best instructors are
Necessity, Habit, and Time: from these everything may be learned, common
sense alone excepted, the peculiar and rarest gift of Providence. At his
starting in life, Necessity teaches him that if he hopes to live, he
must labor; Habit turns the labor into ease, and Time gives to
every man an hour for everything, unless he chooses to throw it away.

"Beware of pride; it has been the bane of many a
promising young tradesman: 'pride often breakfasts with plenty, dines with
poverty, and sups with infamy.' If you wish your business to befriend
you—never be too proud to own your friend. Wear an apron, if such be the
custom of your business, and consider it rather a badge of distinction than
a mark of disgrace. It will gain you respect and credit with the wise and
good. Let there be no part of your business, however inferior, which you do
not thoroughly understand, and to which you cannot turn your hand, if
occasion require.

"If you have men or boys employed under you, be among
them early and late; 'the master's eye does more than both his
hands!' Much waste and fraud would never have been practiced, if
servants could not have ensured themselves with 'Master won't be up for this
hour or two,' or, 'Master is safe enough at the public-house.' Not to
oversee workmen, is to leave them your open purse. Trusting too much to
others, is the ruin of many.

'He who by the plough would thrive,
Himself must either hold or drive.'

'If you would have your business talked of—send
someone else. If you would have it done—go and do it yourself! If you
would be sure of a faithful servant, serve yourself.' These are the sayings
of a philosopher, who gained his knowledge, not from books, but men.

"If you would wish to prosper, do not despise small jobs
or little customers. You are not to expect, as soon as you set up shop, that
people will leave their old tradesmen, and deal with you; and yet they may
sometimes send to you for a small article, or to do some little thing in
haste. Receive their orders civilly and thankfully, and take as much pains
to do them well, as if they were ten times as great. You will get your
proportion of profit; and these little things may lead to greater—perhaps,
in time, to the whole custom of the parties who came at first to your shop
on some little two penny errand, for mere convenience. But the carpenter,
shoemaker, or tailor, who rudely scorns a little mending job, from those who
do not employ him on new work, stands a fair chance of driving away all his
customers, both little and great, new and old.

"You may sometimes meet with those who do not treat you
with as much courtesy as you think you have a right to expect. It might be
very natural for you to resent these little indignities, but it will
be much more for your peace and advantage if you pass them by: the noble
lion is not soon roused to resentment, but the insignificant cur is always
ready to snarl and bark. There is much true dignity, as well as sound
wisdom, in passing by little affronts. But in order to this, the pride of
corrupt nature must be mortified; 'that would break a proud man's
heart, which would hardly break a humble man's slumber.'

"The celebrated Benjamin Franklin, many of whose maxims
are here recorded, was early instructed in this useful lesson, 'Learn to
stoop.' Having called on the Rev. Cotton Mather, that gentleman, when he
took his leave, proposed to show him a shorter way out of the house. It was
through a narrow passage, crossed by a beam overhead: as they were still
talking, Mr. Mather hastily said to his young friend, 'Stoop! stoop!' He did
not understand the warning, until he struck his head against the beam. On
this, Mr. Mather observed to him, 'You are young, and have the world before
you; stoop as you go through it, and you will miss many hard thumps.' 'This
advice,' said Franklin, many years afterwards, 'thus beat into my head, has
frequently been of use to me; and I often think of it, when I see pride, and
misfortunes brought upon people, by carrying their heads too high.' 'Pride
goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall,' and 'before
honor is humility.'

"Beware of false dependences and sudden elevations; go
steadily on, laboring and earning, buying and selling, and 'be content to
spend a penny less than your clear gains.' Many have been ruined by
calculating on an expected legacy, or an extraordinary run of business. As
to legacies, never think about them until you have actually got them. If you
do, you may be insensibly led into expenses, which your present
circumstances do not justify, and which future circumstances never may; and
instead of being benefitted by occasional gain, you may be exposed to
financial embarrassments through life. In like manner, if a peculiar season,
or some public change of peace or war, should give you a brisk and
prosperous run of trade, remember that it will not last always. Be not hasty
in enlarging your expenses, or making a more showy appearance on the
strength of it. Let extra gains go quietly towards increasing your capital,
and then they may prove a real and permanent advantage; but if spent on
appearance or present gratification, they will only excite in yourself a
taste for indulgences and gratifications, that you cannot continue to enjoy,
and in your neighbors an estimate of your circumstances which truth and time
will not support.

"Always act by a plan. It is said, 'A good
contriver is better than an early riser.' Now, early rising is a piece of
good contrivance, that no person of good character will ever omit. Those who
waste their morning hours in bed, are generally notorious for indolence and
ill-management throughout the day. Indeed, their life is a scene of lazy
bustle and laborious confusion. However, though every good contriver is an
early riser—it does not follow that every early riser is a good contriver.
The great matter is—to have an allotted and profitable employment for every
hour of the day, and something always at hand to fill up the odd minutes.
Much time may be wasted in considering what to set about next; and much time
frittered in pursuits not worthy our attention. As every shred of gold is
precious, so is every moment of time. Time is the stuff that life is
made of, and he who wastes his moments is a kind of self-murderer. He
does not live so long as he might do. Remember, 'time is money;' if you
loiter away an hour, you might just as well, perhaps better, throw away the
money you might have earned in that hour. If you spend an hour or half a day
in amusements, you must reckon that it costs you, not merely the money you
pay, but the money you neglect to earn; and you ought also to take into
account the offence given to neglected customers, and the loss of character
sustained.

"Do not be regardless of appearance, or of the
remarks that are made of you. Every man may command respect. If he conducts
himself well, bad people may hate or envy, but they cannot despise him; and
all good people feel a pleasure in manifesting respect towards one whose
character is respectable. A wise man will neither seek nor despise a good
reputation. He does right, because it is right; and in so doing, he finds
the advantage of being reputed to do so, in the confidence and respect he
gains. But he who despises what men may say; is likely to be very careless
whether he does right or wrong. It is an advantage to a young tradesman, and
will be found to set him higher in the esteem, both of his creditors and his
customers, to have it known that he spends his evenings at home with his
family, and his Sabbaths at the house of God, than if his voice were heard
in the tavern, or at the billiard table, or skittle ground.

"Wherever a man goes, his good or his bad character will
be sure to fly before him, or at least to tread on his heels. Character will
rather generally be grounded on small habits, than on great acts.

"Idleness leads to extravagance: for that reason they are
often coupled together in the book of Proverbs: thus, 'he who is slothful is
brother to him that is a great waster;' 'the drunkard and the glutton shall
come to poverty, and drowsiness shall clothe a man with rags.'

"Shun a public-house; it is the grave of a tradesman's
respectability and prosperity, and a snare to his soul. Avoid making
bargains or paying wages in a public-house; the very appearance is not
creditable, and the habit is highly injurious. Form no connection with a
club that holds its meetings at a public-house. Savings banks and life
insurances will answer your purpose better, and neither cost you a farthing
in drink, nor run the hazard of exciting in you a love of liquor. There are
two houses which a thrifty young tradesman will never enter—the public-house
or liquor-shop, and the pawnbroker's. Every pound borrowed at the
pawnbroker's amounts, in the course of a year, to at least three pounds, and
sometimes (according to circumstances) to as much as sixteen pounds. This
may seem incredible, but it is a fact.

"Every pound spent at the public-house should be reckoned
as two pounds, at the end of three years, and sixteen pounds, at the end of
twenty-four years. Many a tradesman who complains that he cannot get on for
lack of capital, forgets how much capital he has wasted by littles.
'He who despises small things, shall fall little by little.' Do not
say it is only a penny, only a shilling; but remember that 'a
penny a day is a groat a year, and a groat a day is six pounds a year.'
Besides, if a groat a day be spent the first year, sixpence a day will
hardly suffice for the second year; and so a man may go on spending, until
what would keep his family in bread and grocery, shall scarcely suffice for
his own selfish and sensual expenses. Many a good estate has been swallowed
from a wine glass! Well has the wise man said, 'He who loves pleasure shall
be a poor man; he who loves wine and oil shall not be rich.'

"The young tradesman who wishes to thrive, must avoid all
needless expenses, both in his shop, his person, and his household concerns.
There is nothing got by ostentatious display in the fitting up of
your shop. Every sensible customer says, 'I must pay for part of this
finery.' The cleanness of your shop windows is much more likely to
attract profitable notice than the size of the panes; and the neat and tasty
selection and arrangement of your goods, than the mahogany counters
on which they are served.

"Every tradesman should maintain a clean, neat, and
respectable appearance; but if he becomes foppish and extravagant in his
dress, he will be suspected of either imposing on his customers, or of
running the way to his own ruin; and except frugality presides over
all his personal and household expenses, whatever be his gains, his ruin is
certain.

"In order to secure economy in the management of
household expenses, as well as many other important advantages, it will be
his wisdom to choose an industrious, prudent and discreet wife,
rather than a showy one. For in vain will he earn and spare—if she is
wasteful and extravagant! He who has an extravagant wife, as the saying is,
'may keep his nose to the grindstone all his life, and not leave a dollar
behind him at last.' 'A fat kitchen, makes a lean will.'

"Check the first inclination in yourself or your wife, to
lay out money on selfish gratifications. 'Those who buy superfluities are
likely soon to sell necessaries.' 'Silks and satins put out the kitchen
fire.' Do not be induced to buy things merely because they are offered
cheap—'a cheap bargain is a pick-pocket!' When you feel inclined to buy
anything, it will not take long to ask yourself the following questions,
and may be the means of saving you from ruin—

"Can I afford it?
"Is it fit and becoming to my station in life?
"Could I do very well without it?
"Might not the money be used for a better purpose?

"Many families, for the sake of a fine showy appearance,
endure the lack of real comforts; their miserable, confined, ill-furnished
bed-chambers and kitchen, but poorly agree with their drawing-rooms and
sofas, their ribbons and feathers. But, as the saying is,
'pride is as loud a beggar as poverty, and a great deal more saucy.' 'When
you have bought one fine thing, you must buy ten more—that your
appearance may be unified.' It is easier, therefore, to suppress the
first desire—than to satisfy all that follow it.

"Beware of the folly of hankering after things, either in
dress or furniture, merely because your neighbor has them;
perhaps his means are above yours; if they are, you would only make yourself
as ridiculous as the frog in the fable—who killed himself in trying
to swell as large as the ox. If your neighbor's means are not larger than
your own—there is no reason why you should make a fool of yourself merely
because he chooses to do so. Those who strive to make an appearance
above their circumstances, are often reduced to seek assistance of those who
are content with living a little below their circumstances. And so 'a
ploughman on his legs, is higher than a gentleman on his knees.'

"If you have a little money in hand, and are tempted to
take a little for costly foods, and a little for fine clothes, and a little
for grand entertainments; remember that 'many a little—makes a mickle (that
is—a large sum).' 'A small leak will soon sink a great ship.' 'If you are
always taking out of the meal tub, and never putting in, you will soon come
to the bottom.' If you act thus, and come to poverty, don't be laying the
blame on bad times and heavy taxes! 'You are taxed twice as
much by your idleness, three times as much by your pride, and
four times as much by your folly! And from these taxes, the
commissioners cannot ease or deliver you by making an abatement.'

"'My neighbor,' says one, 'had a terrible itching for
bargains.' 'Never mind,' he used to say, 'I'll have that, it will not
ruin me. Give me that other thing—it is dirt cheap. I don't much need these
things, but I may use them occasionally.' He was sadly wrong here—he filled
his house with useless lumber, and made good the saying, 'Feather by
feather, the goose was plucked!'

"One great evil of extravagance is, that it leads
to running in debt. He who, having ready money, cannot resist the temptation
to spend it on superfluities; when he has no ready money, is more likely to
run in debt than to deny himself; and then what follows? You will be ashamed
to see your creditor, ashamed to speak to him, and driven to make poor,
pitiful, sneaking excuses, until you come by degrees to lose all principle,
and sink into base, downright lying, as it has been well said, 'Lying
rides on debt's back!' 'The second vice is lying, the first is
running in debt.' 'It is hard for an empty bag to stand upright.'

"Poverty, brought on by extravagance, often deprives a
man of all spirit and virtue. Very different is this, from honest poverty;
a poor man, his wife, and family, may labor hard and fare hard, perhaps go
to bed supperless; but when he rises, he feels that he owes no man anything,
and goes forth cheerfully to earn the daily bread in its day, happy to think
that he is not burdened with the expenses of yesterday. And if he begins
with one honest penny in his pocket, he feels himself a little prince,
compared with that man, who, for past gratifications, is suffering nightly
disturbances and daily apprehensions. The way to be rich and respectable is
to 'let industry make a purse, and frugality find strings to
it. Let the strings only be drawn as frugality dictates, and there will
always be found a useful penny at the bottom.'

"The prosperous young tradesman is generally one whom his
customers find at home. If a customer calls again and again, without seeing
the master, it is likely he will seek business elsewhere. Many a good order
has been lost, for lack of the master being in the shop, to make hay while
the sun shines. 'As a bird that wanders from her nest, so is a man that
wanders from his place.' All his plans are likely to be defeated, and the
whole to issue in a failure.

"Whatever is amiss in your circumstances, do not indulge
a restless, discontented spirit, and try to lay the blame anywhere but on
yourself. It is bad enough if you have brought yourself to ruin, but if you
realize that it was because of your own folly—by all means cherish the
conviction rather than stifle it, for after all it affords the best hope of
mending matters. Surely you have more power to correct your own follies—than
the follies of other people. Industry and patience can remedy
almost any common grievance; but discontent and despair only increase them.
'The foolishness of man perverts his way, and his heart frets against the
Lord.' Instead of indulging this repining spirit, submit yourself; humble
yourself under the mighty hand of God; acknowledge that you have deserved
all you suffer, and much more. Resolve to act differently for the future,
and beg of God to give you strength and grace to keep your resolutions. Let
the fear of God rule in your heart; this will make you think well and act
well, and when you most need it and least expect it, God may raise you up a
friend, or open to you a way of deliverance.

"Do not meddle with politics. I never knew a young
tradesman either do good or get good, who was fond of political debates or
newspapers. 'Fear the Lord and the king, and meddle not with those who are
given to change.' 'Let God govern the world, and the king the
nation—and mind your own business!'

"If you wish to prosper, you must be persevering
as well as industrious. Be not discouraged if you do not at first
enjoy as much success as you could desire, but try again and again, still
humbly depending on the blessing of God, and sooner or later you will in
some measure succeed, perhaps far beyond your present expectation. One great
man was encouraged to perseverance by observing a spider, which, in
attempting to reach the beam on which to fix its web, failed twelve times,
but succeeded the thirteenth. Another person, when forced to take shelter
from the pursuit of his enemies, concealed himself in a ruined building, and
remained there several hours. While meditating on his hopeless condition, he
saw a little ant carrying up a high wall a grain of corn much larger
than itself. He numbered the efforts made by this diligent little creature
to accomplish its object; sixty-nine times the grain fell to the ground, but
the seventieth time the ant successfully reached the top of the wall. The
lesson thus imparted was never forgotten.

"It is greatly to the honor of a young tradesman, instead
of consuming all the gains of his industry—to lay aside a portion for old
age or sickness.

'For age and want, save while you may;
No summer's sun lasts a whole day.'

Lay up while young, and you will find it when you are
old. A prudent care and savings may be cherished, without yielding to a
selfish or distrustful spirit.

"But with all your industry, perseverance, and good
management, guard against worldly-mindedness. 'Are you seeking great
things for yourself? Seek them not!' 'Labor not to be rich; cease from your
own wisdom. Will you set your heart upon that which is not? for riches
certainly make themselves wings; they fly away as an eagle towards heaven!'
Money is only valuable for the good it will procure; in itself, it is
very unworthy, and unsatisfying, and uncertain. Unsanctified riches
are a curse! 'Those who will be rich, fall into temptation and a snare, and
into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in perdition and
destruction!' While laboring diligently, never forget the solemn question,
'What will it profit a man, if he gains the whole world, and loses his own
soul? What shall a man give in exchange for his soul?' In your pursuit of
wealth, never be drawn to neglect the one thing needful, or to waste
time, especially sacred time, from the concerns of your soul. 'Prayer and
provender hinder no journey.' Real success will never attend that cause on
which the blessing of God is not sought; but the blessing of God is seen to
rest, in an especial manner, on that house in which the worship of God is
maintained, and his sanctuary frequented; while those who have been induced,
for the sake of worldly gain—to slacken their attendance on pious
duties—have generally fallen, both in property and enjoyment, instead of
rising.

"Never forget your entire dependence on Providence.
Though the advice here given is consistent with sound reason and sacred
wisdom—do not depend too much on your own industry, frugality, and prudence,
though excellent things, for they may be blasted without the blessing of
God! Therefore, seek that blessing humbly, and be not uncharitable to those
who at present seem to need it—but comfort and help them.'

"'Unless the Lord builds the house, its builders labor in
vain. Unless the Lord watches over the city, the watchmen stand guard in
vain. In vain you rise early and stay up late, toiling for food to eat.'
Constantly remember the Lord your God, for it is He who gives you power to
get wealth, or who in wisdom withholds it. It is He who
appoints your straits or your sufficiency. In either, his blessing
alone can make truly rich and happy. The only security for a blessing, on
either prosperity or adversity, is in being found among those 'for whom all
things work together for good, even those who love God, and are the called
according to his purpose.'

"Now the question is—whether all this good advice will be
taken heed to, or whether it will be allowed to run off—like water from a
duck's back. We can give counsel, but we cannot give conduct.
'One man can lead a horse to the water, but twenty cannot make him drink.'
Remember, that 'those who will not be counseled, cannot be helped,' and 'if
you will not hear reason, she is likely to rap your knuckles.'
'Therefore, hear counsel, and receive instruction, that you may be wise in
your latter end. Keep sound wisdom and discretion, so shall they be life to
your soul, and grace to your neck.' 'For the Lord detests a perverse man but
takes the upright into his confidence. The Lord's curse is on the house of
the wicked, but he blesses the home of the righteous. He mocks proud mockers
but gives grace to the humble. The wise inherit honor, but fools he holds up
to shame.' Proverbs 3:32-35

The following is part of a letter from Rev. James Hervey
to his brother, while he was an apprentice—

"As soon as you are apprenticed, you are at your master's
disposal, and not at your own. He has then a right to your hands, your
strength, and ALL that you can do. He becomes a sort of parent to you; and
though not a natural, yet a legal father. You are also obliged, not only by
the laws of your country, and the tenor of your indentures, but by the fifth
commandment of God, to pay him all due submission and honor. To do this is a
most material part of your duty as a Christian, as well as your undeniable
debt as an apprentice. It is required of you by God, in Holy Scripture, and
you must not once imagine that you do what is pleasing to him unless you
conscientiously perform it. Now, that you may know what it is that your
master will expect from you, and what it is that the Lord has enjoined you
with regard to him, remember it consists, first, in respect of his
person; secondly, in obedience to his commands; and, thirdly, in
faithfulness in his business.

"First, in respect of his person. You must esteem
him very highly for his superiority's sake and the authority he has under
God. For God, who made you, and has an uncontrollable power over you, has
communicated some of that power to your master; so that you are to look upon
him as the representative, in some sort, of the divine majesty, and invested
with some of his authority. Accordingly, Paul says, 1 Tim. 6:1, 'You must
count him worthy of all honor;' all, that is, internal and external, that of
the actions and words, as well as that of the heart. It is not enough to
maintain a worthy estimation inwardly, but you must let it appear on all
occasions outwardly, by behaving yourself very obligingly to him before his
face, and by speaking very respectfully of him behind his back. Suppose you
should discern failings and infirmities in him, you must by no means divulge
them, or make yourself merry with them, much less must you dare neglect any
of his orders. Whatever you have reason to think will grieve or displease
him, or will be harmful or offensive to him—that you must cautiously
forbear.

"Secondly, obedience to his commands. See how full
the apostle speaks to this purpose, Col. 3:22. 'Servants, obey in all
things your masters according to the flesh.' Observe, likewise, from this
passage, not only the necessity, but also the compass and
latitude of your obedience—how large and extensive it is. It reaches not
barely to a few, but to all and every instance. If you should receive orders
that are ever so much against the grain of your own inclination, you must
force yourself to comply with them; receive them as you used to do with
bitter medicines; though they may be unpleasant at first, they will do you
good, and be comfortable to you afterwards. Your own pleasure must always
stoop, and give way to your master's. If he sets you a task that is low and
ignoble, and such as (according to the expression of the world) is beneath a
gentleman's son—do not hesitate, dear brother, but despatch it cheerfully.
Remember who has said, 'Servants, obey your masters in all things.'

And, oh! remember that, however well born and bred we
are, yet He who was higher than the highest of us all, even the most
excellent and illustrious person who ever lived, condescended to the lowest
and (such as our fine folks would account) most shameful offices. The Lord
Jesus Christ, though 'the brightness of his Father's glory,' did not disdain
to wash his disciples' feet. Neither be dejected because you are treated in
an unworthy manner, or set to do some base and low office for your master,
or his family; but rejoice rather in that you are made like unto your
Redeemer, and in the happy prospect you will have of becoming great in
heaven—by being little on earth.

I am aware that this piece of advice is not so striking
as the rest; but never forget that the things which are most highly esteemed
by God, are held in least repute by men. I know, and am sure, that if any
apprentice would make such a compliance for the sake of preserving peace,
and out of conscience to the command of God, and with an eye to the example
of Christ, there is a day coming when he will not repent of it; when it will
not be deemed a blot in his character, but be 'an ornament of grace to his
head, and more lovely than chains about his neck.' (Proverbs 1:9.)

Well, you see your obedience must be universal;
you must come when he calls you—and go where he bids you; do all that he
commands you—and let alone all that he forbids you. This must, moreover, be
done, not grudgingly, or of necessity, but readily and gladly. Hear what the
scripture says, 'Whatever you do, do it heartily' (Col. 3:23;) and again,
'with good will doing service' (Eph. 6:7;) so that we must not creep,
but be quick and expeditious in our business, however disagreeable.
You must not go about it with grumbling words and muttering in your mouth,
but with so satisfied a a disposition, as may show that you are pleased with
whatever pleases your master.

"Thirdly, in faithfulness in his business. This is
the last branch of your duty to your master; and since Moses has obtained an
honorable testimony on this account, be you also 'faithful in all his
house.' (Heb. 3:5.) You may find this, as indeed all the qualifications of a
good servant, described by Paul, Titus 2:10, 'Not to steal from them, but to
show that they can be fully trusted, so that in every way they will make the
teaching about God our Savior attractive.' You are charged not to steal,
that is, not to keep back from your master, nor to put into your own pocket,
nor convert to your own use—any of that money which, in the way of trade,
passes through your hands. You were taught from your childhood to keep your
hands from picking and stealing, and I hope you abhor such abominable
practices from the bottom of your heart. You must not sell at a cheaper
rate, and buy at a dearer rate, in order to have some valuable consideration
made you privily in your own person. These differ from robbing on the
highway, only in being less open and notorious; but they are flagrant acts
of dishonesty, and will cry to Heaven for vengeance! Such tricks and
villainies do the same thing by craft and treachery, as housebreakers do by
force and violence. Therefore, dear brother, renounce, detest, and fly from
them—as much as from fire, arrows, and death! Besides, you are not only to
abstain from such clandestine knavery, but also to show all good fidelity.
What is meant by this you may understand by reading how Joseph conducted
himself in Potiphar's service. Your master, it is likely, will commit the
management of some of his affairs to you; and you must endeavor, by a
discreet behavior and a pious life—to bring the blessing of the Lord upon
all that you take in hand. You must lay out your time, and your labor, and
give all diligence to answer the trust reposed in you. You must not delay
the business which is urgent, nor do your work by halves, nor transfer that
to others—which it is expected you should do yourself. 'One who is slack in
his work is brother to one who destroys.' Therefore you must avoid
idleness and carelessness. In a word, you must do nothing
knowingly and willfully, which is likely to impoverish your master, but seek
by all lawful and laudable means to increase his substance.

All this you must observe, not only when he stands by
you, and inspects you—but when his back is turned, and you are removed from
his view. Otherwise your service is nothing but eye-service, such as will
prove odious to man, and is already condemned by God. For if you appear to
be industrious, and in earnest, before your master—and loiter and trifle
when out of his sight—you will be chargeable with hypocrisy, a sin
extremely hateful to Christ, and grievously pernicious to the soul. But I am
afraid I tire you; this one sentence, therefore, and I am done. You must
carry yourself, throughout the whole course of your apprenticeship, so
respectfully, so obediently, so faithfully, that at the end of it you may
truly say with Jacob, 'With all my power I have served.'